GameCentral gets a hands-off preview of the Resident Evil 4 remake, including the Krauser knife fight and a first look at Ashley in action.
In just a few short weeks the remake of Resident Evil 4 will be released and what was once regarded as one of the best video games ever made has the chance to become so again. That’s probably asking a bit much – beyond just the quality of the experience the original was also highly innovative, and that magic can’t be replicated by a remake – but everything so far is looking almost pitch perfect.
We got to play the opening few scenes of the game, including the famous village siege, last year and in lieu of being able to organise another hands-on event Capcom instead sent 17 minutes of raw footage for us to gawp at. We can’t share it here, but we have been allowed to take screenshots and tell you want it was like, the most succinct version of which is: ‘amazing’.
The footage starts with Chapter 4, near the lake – which is still fairly early on in the game but after you’ve discovered that all the locals are wandering around with evil parasites in their head, that sprout tentacles if angered. The lighting effects at night, especially with your torch, look fantastic and it’s all uphill from there.
It’s been a while since we’ve played the original game, so we didn’t immediately recognise the cave Leon finds his way into, but the tactic of shooting enemies in the legs to stagger them, and then using a roundhouse kick close-up, was certainly familiar.
Leon also stabs people when they’re down, preventing the parasite from emerging, and there’s a particularly cool bit later on where Leon roundhouses one guy with a machete, just as another with a flaming torch swings his weapon and accidentally sets his pal on fire.
Further into the cave system Leon discovers a mysterious shrine with symbols ‘from the church’ all over it and then something that’s brand new for the remake: request notes. These seem to be achievement-like objectives, such as finding and selling a gold chicken egg; the rewards appear useful (three spinels) but not anything unique, so a worthwhile diversion but still something you can ignore if you want to.
From there it’s onto a boat which you seem to be able to control manually, with some narrow channels reminiscent of God Of War.
We also saw a glimpse of one of the dial puzzles, with symbol clues spread all about the area, which confirms the game isn’t making the same mistake of the Resident Evil 3, by taking out all the more abstract puzzles. If this team had made it, you can bet that remake would’ve still had the Clock Tower in it.
Alas, nothing is truly perfect, as shortly after that you’re introduced to the Merchant, who has a completely different voiceover, that’s more high-pitched and campy. He’s still saying the same lines, and some new ones, and the background music is the same, but it’s not a close impression of the original.
The Merchant’s options do seem more extensive than before, but the attaché case is essentially the same as always, as you rearrange your inventory Tetris style, trying to fit in as much as possible. You can swap between weapons without opening the case though, via an interface that looks like it’s controlled by the D-pad, which is a welcome improvement from the original. You can also customise the case, both in terms of colours and attaching charms – such as a chicken one that makes eggs restore 100% health.
The footage then skips on to the entrance of the castle, with Ashley in tow (the President’s daughter, who you’re there to rescue). She can be told to ‘stay close’ or hang back further, which should hopefully avoid some of the frustrations of the original.
At this point things get a bit more stealthy, as you try to avoid being spotted, before being forced to deal with an extra large parasite, who Leon dispatches with the quip ‘No food for you!’ There’s not much dialogue in what we watched but it’s all agreeably awful, with some of it taken directly from the original. So you don’t have to worry about the remake stripping all the charm and goofiness away, as happened with Resident Evil 3.
Enemies are much better equipped in the castle, so there’s a lot of cultists with flaming arrows and catapults to deal with. This is where the sniper rifle comes in handy, as well as flash grenades, with Leon also able to parry arrows with his knife. Ashely is still defenceless though and has to be rescued if captured by an enemy, who will try to carry her away, or if she takes too much damage, including from nearby explosions.
We also got to see a run-in with Ramón Salazar, who looks a bit different but is still extremely short and sporting an outrageous Spanish accent. The castle looks fantastic, in terms of the graphics, but the dungeons are very reminiscent of Resident Evil Village. That’s because Village was purposefully trying to channel Resident Evil 4, but the déjà vu is still unfortunate.
After a mini-boss fight with a Garrador – who has enormous metal claws but poor eyesight, so you can sneak up behind them and stab their parasite in their back – it’s then onto Krauser and what is so far the most controversial change of the remake: removing his QTE sequence (widely regarded as one of the best ever) and making it all real-time gameplay.
The use of a knife is much more pronounced in the remake as a whole, so it makes sense, and if nothing else the sequence looks very cinematic, with some great lighting, so we’re not entirely against the change from what we’ve seen so far. Especially as there are still some simpler QTE moments when pinned down.
We’ll have to play it for ourselves to be sure but that’s not much of a wait now and while we were already sold on the remake this new footage only serves to make it look even better.
Resident Evil 4 remake will launch on March 24 for PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.
Email [email protected], leave a comment below, and follow us on Twitter.
MORE : Resident Evil 4 remake VR mode has started development – will still be free
MORE : Resident Evil 4 remake has new side quests, enemies, and no QTEs
MORE : Resident Evil 4 remake is just as long as the original – hopefully includes jet ski ending
Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at [email protected]
To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
Sign up to all the exclusive gaming content, latest releases before they're seen on the site.
Share this with